college american literature. 1. post-colonialism
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LITERARY THEORY: A PRIMER
College American Literature
1. Post-Colonialism
1. Post-Colonialism
Typical Questions Asked:
1. Post-Colonialism
Typical Questions Asked:How does the text, explicitly or allegorically,
represent different aspects of colonialism?
1. Post-Colonialism
Typical Questions Asked:How does the text, explicitly or allegorically,
represent different aspects of colonialism?What person/group does the work identify
with “other” or “stranger”? How are they described and treated?
1. Post-Colonialism
Typical Questions Asked:How does the text, explicitly or allegorically,
represent different aspects of colonialism?What person/group does the work identify
with “other” or “stranger”? How are they described and treated?
What does the text reveal about the politics or psychology of anti-colonial resistance?
1. Post-Colonialism
Typical Questions Asked:How does the text, explicitly or allegorically,
represent different aspects of colonialism?What person/group does the work identify
with “other” or “stranger”? How are they described and treated?
What does the text reveal about the politics or psychology of anti-colonial resistance?
1. Post-Colonialism
Typical Questions Asked (cont’d):What does the text reveal about the
operations of cultural difference in shaping our perceptions of ourselves, others, and the world?○ Examples: ways in which race, religion, class,
gender, sexual orientation, cultural beliefs, and customs combine to form identify
1. Post-Colonialism
Typical Questions Asked (cont’d):How does the text respond to or comment
upon the characters, themes, or assumptions or a canonized (colonialist) work?
1. Post-Colonialism
Facets
1. Post-Colonialism
FacetsPost-colonial critics are concerned
w/literature produced by colonial powers and works produced by those who were colonized.
1. Post-Colonialism
FacetsPost-colonial critics are concerned
w/literature produced by colonial powers and works produced by those who were colonized.
Looks at issues of power, economics, politics, religion, and culture – and how these elements work in relation to colonial hegemony○ Ie – western colonizers controlling the
colonized
1. Post-Colonialism
Facets A critic might be interested in works
looking at a colonialist attitudeEx: how robinson crusoe is shipwrecked and
examinations towards the black man he “colonizes” and names “Friday”.
1. Post-Colonialism
FacetsWhat is the role of western literary canon
and what colonial aspects are expressed?
1. Post-Colonialism
Who’s in charge and why?
1. Post-Colonialism
Who’s in charge and why?Look for issues on slavery, colonialist views
on “taming the savage land/peoples”
1. Post-Colonialism
Who’s in charge and why?Look for issues on slavery, colonialist views
on “taming the savage land/peoples”○ Ask yourself: how are the people native to a
land CHANGED, REPRESSED, or ELIMINATED in the process of colonization
1. Post-Colonialism
Who’s in charge and why?Look for issues on slavery, colonialist views
on “taming the savage land/peoples”○ Ask yourself: how are the people native to a
land CHANGED, REPRESSED, or ELIMINATED in the process of colonization
○ Post-colonialism DEMANDS you understand and dissect how the dominating power (the “victor) looks down on, and seeks to change, the repressed people.
1. Post-Colonialism
Caveats:
1. Post-Colonialism
Caveats:While the theory depends upon the idea that
“history is written by the victors”, it does NOT depend upon finding accusations of racism.
1. Post-Colonialism
Caveats:While the theory depends upon the idea that
“history is written by the victors”, it does NOT depend upon finding accusations of racism.
Think like this: the terms “first/second/third world” are terms constructed by those in power to describe themselves and others. They are, by nature, a reinforcement that the western world is the dominant power
1. Post-Colonialism
Caveats:While the theory depends upon the idea that
“history is written by the victors”, it does NOT depend upon finding accusations of racism.
Think like this: the terms “first/second/third world” are terms constructed by those in power to describe themselves and others. They are, by nature, a reinforcement that the western world is the dominant power
It is NOT a condemnation of any party, oppresser or oppressed.
2. Reader Response
2. Reader Response
Questions asked:
2. Reader Response
Questions asked:How does the interaction of text and reader
create meaning?
2. Reader Response
Questions asked:How does the interaction of text and reader
create meaning?How do the sounds/shapes of the words as
they appear on the page or are read out loud effect meaning?
2. Reader Response
Questions asked:How does the interaction of text and reader
create meaning?How do the sounds/shapes of the words as
they appear on the page or are read out loud effect meaning?
How do the reader’s life experiences, and understanding of the world, alter or effect the meaning of the text?
2. Reader Response Questions asked:
How does the interaction of text and reader create meaning?
How do the sounds/shapes of the words as they appear on the page or are read out loud effect meaning?
How do the reader’s life experiences, and understanding of the world, alter or effect the meaning of the text?
What does the text SUGGEST about the critics who first interpreted and/or the reading experience produced by that text?
2. Reader Response
Facets:
2. Reader Response
Facets:Reader Response is a criticism that
considers reader reaction to literature is vital to gaining meaning.
2. Reader Response
Facets:Reader Response is a criticism that
considers reader reaction to literature is vital to gaining meaning.
It can take many different forms, and the criticism can use a variety of different lenses in interpretation.
2. Reader Response
Facets:Reader Response is a criticism that
considers reader reaction to literature is vital to gaining meaning.
It can take many different forms, and the criticism can use a variety of different lenses in interpretation.
However you look: the reader cannot be omitted from understanding, and readers do NOT passively consume a meaning presented in a text.
2. Reader Response
Caveats:
2. Reader Response
Caveats:“Reader Response” is often misdiagnosed
as a method to dismiss text because they don’t fit with a personal world-view. This…is…inaccurate.
2. Reader Response
Caveats:“Reader Response” is often misdiagnosed
as a method to dismiss text because they don’t fit with a personal world-view. This…is…inaccurate.
RR does not give ammunition to dismiss because you disagree with the text. It, instead, gives you a method to understand WHY your biases may exist, as well as uncovering biases within a text.
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:How is the relationship between men and
women portrayed?
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:How is the relationship between men and
women portrayed?What are the power relationships between
men and women?
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:How is the relationship between men and
women portrayed?What are the power relationships between
men and women?How are male/female roles defined; what
constitutes masculinity/femininity?
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:How is the relationship between men and
women portrayed?What are the power relationships between
men and women?How are male/female roles defined; what
constitutes masculinity/femininity?How do the characters EMBODY or DEFY
these traits?
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:How is the relationship between men and
women portrayed?What are the power relationships between
men and women?How are male/female roles defined; what
constitutes masculinity/femininity?How do the characters EMBODY or DEFY
these traits?
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:Do characters take on traits from opposite
genders? How? How does this change others’ reactions to them?
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:Do characters take on traits from opposite
genders? How? How does this change others’ reactions to them?
What does this work reveal about the operations (economics, politics, society, psychology) of patriarchy?
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:Do characters take on traits from opposite
genders? How? How does this change others’ reactions to them?
What does this work reveal about the operations (economics, politics, society, psychology) of patriarchy?
What does the work imply about the possibilitties of sisterhood as a mode of resisting patriarchy?
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:What does the work say about women’s
creativity?
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:What does the work say about women’s
creativity?What does the history of the work’s
reception by the public and by the critics tell us about the operation of patriarchy?
3. Feminist
Questions Asked:What does the work say about women’s
creativity?What does the history of the work’s
reception by the public and by the critics tell us about the operation of patriarchy?
What role does the work play in terms of women’s literary history and literary tradition?
3. Feminist
Translation:
3. Feminist
Translation:The FUN part of Feminist criticism is that
there are SO MANY ways to understand it. A feminist critic asks a variety of questions about him/herself, the world around us, and the characters in a text, in order to understand how a text supports or defies the patriarchal society.
3. Feminist
Translation:The key point to remember: feminist
criticism assumes that we live in a patriarchy – a system of government/society run by male powers. Either intentionally or unintentionally, our world is built around the idea of feminine ideas being secondary.
3. Feminist
Facets:
3. Feminist
Facets:This criticism is concerned with all of the
ways in which literature/media reinforces or undermines economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women/feminine traits.
3. Feminist
Facets:This criticism is concerned with all of the
ways in which literature/media reinforces or undermines economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women/feminine traits…
How aspects of culture are patriarchal (male-dominated)…
3. Feminist
Facets:This criticism is concerned with all of the
ways in which literature/media reinforces or undermines economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women/feminine traits…
How aspects of culture are patriarchal (male-dominated)…
And strives to expose explicit/implicit mysogyny in male writing.
3. Feminist
Facets:“Mysogyny” can translate into many areas.
Example: anti-depressants are marketed to women, while antacids are marketed towards men.
3. Feminist
Facets:“Mysogyny” can translate into many areas.
Example: anti-depressants are marketed to women, while antacids are marketed towards men.○ Both are prescribed to both groups equally,
but clinical trials are often exclusively tested on men.
3. Feminist
Facets:Feminist criticism also looks closely at the
traditional canon – looking at the exclusion/marginalization of women writers.
3. Feminist
Facets:Feminist criticism also looks closely at the
traditional canon – looking at the exclusion/marginalization of women writers.○ Even today, unless the woman is marketed as
a “feminist writer”, there is a huge tendency to under-represent the contributions of female writers.
3. Feminist
Basic Traits:
3. Feminist
Basic Traits:While the lens is broad with a LARGE
variety of uses, these are the basic ideas in common:
3. Feminist
Basic Traits:○ Women, and feminine traits, interests, and
ideals, are oppressed by patriarchy economically, politically, socially, and psychologically; “patriarchal ideology is the primary means by which they are kept so.
3. Feminist
Basic Traits:○ Women, and feminine traits, interests, and
ideals, are oppressed by patriarchy economically, politically, socially, and psychologically; “patriarchal ideology is the primary means by which they are kept so.
○ In every domain where patriarchy is the norm, woman is “other” – marginalized, defined only be differences from male norms and values.
3. Feminist
Basic Traits:○ ALL of western (anglo-euro) civilization is
deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology…for example, in the biblical portrayal Eve is the origin of sin and death in the world.
3. Feminist
Basic Traits:○ ALL of western (anglo-euro) civilization is
deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology…for example, in the biblical portrayal Eve is the origin of sin and death in the world.
○ While biology determines sex (male/female), CULTURE determines gender values/identities (masculine/feminine)
3. Feminist
Basic Traits:○ ALL of western (anglo-euro) civilization is
deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology…for example, in the biblical portrayal Eve is the origin of sin and death in the world.
○ While biology determines sex (male/female), CULTURE determines gender values/identities (masculine/feminine)
○ ALL feminist activity, including theory and criticism, has as its ultimate goal to change the world by prompting gender equality.
3. Feminist
Basic Traits:○ Gender issues play a part in every aspect of
human production and experience, including the production and experience of literature, whether we are consciously aware of these issues or not.
3. Feminist
Caveats:
3. Feminist
Caveats:Feminist Critique does NOT
equate gender-bashing.
3. Feminist
Caveats:Feminist Critique does NOT
equate gender-bashing.It is, however, multi-faceted, dealing with
three waves of feminism:
3. Feminist
Caveats:Feminist Critique does NOT
equate gender-bashing.It is, however, multi-faceted, dealing with
three waves of feminism:○ 1st –late 1700’s-early 1900’s – writers like
Mary Wollstonecraft highlight inequalities of rights between the sexes. Activists like Susan B. Anthony and Victoria Woodhull contribute to women’s suffrage.
3. Feminist
Caveats:2nd Wave: early 1960’s-late 1970’s
– building on more equal working conditions during ww2, movements such as NOW, formed in 1966, cohere feminist political activism. This is the GROUNDWORK for feminist theories dovetailed into the American Civil Rights Movement, as well as Feminist theory as a literary criticism.
3. Feminist Caveats:
3rd Wave: Early 1990’s-present – resisting the perceived essentialist (over-generalized, over-simplified) ideologies and a white, heterosexual, middle class focus of previous forms of feminism, 3rd wave works to expand on marginalized populations’ experiences. It becomes much more focuses on a promotion of dialogue, community, and the valorization of the work women perform, as well as cultural contributions.
4. Marxist
4. Marxist
Before we start:
4. Marxist
Before we start:Marxism does NOT equal Communism.
Forget any silly black/white “COMMUNISM IS BAD, MM-KAY?” rhetoric you might have heard. Not only is such a statement WOEFULLY inadequate, but it also references a completely different idea from what we’re looking at here.
4. Marxist
Before we start:Marxist theory does NOT mean “espousing
a political system based on Marxism”. While the ideas we’re looking for in a Marxist lens are based on the ideas presented by Karl Marx, what we are looking at/for is similar to other lenses – dynamics of control and power.
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?
○ How does the author show his/her values through the text?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?
○ How does the author show his/her values through the text?
EXAMPLE: In “The Crucible”, If John Proctor is meant to be the “every man” character we all identify with, how does this show the “working man” and his fate against the ruling class (Puritans)?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?
○ Consider pg. 157 (Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence).
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?
○ Consider pg. 157 (Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence).Chart the laws Jefferson states Britain has
REFUSED to pass – do these laws benefit business owners, or the common man?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?
○ Consider pg. 157 (Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence).Chart the laws Jefferson states Britain has
REFUSED to pass – do these laws benefit business owners, or the common man?
Look at pg. 158 – in what way does Jefferson define a leader?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?What values does the text subvert?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?What values does the text subvert?
○ Look to Act IV of “The Crucible” – how does Hale’s status as an authority of the ruling class (the bourgeois in Marxist terms) affect those who seek to enforce execution on those accused?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?What values does the text subvert?What conflict(s) can be seen between the
values the work champions and those it portrays?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?What values does the text subvert?What conflict(s) can be seen between the
values the work champions and those it portrays?○ Consider Franklin’s aphorisms (pg. 141) and
discuss the loaded assumptions made on the working class vs. aristocratic class.
4. Marxist Questions Asked:
What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?What values does the text subvert?What conflict(s) can be seen between the values
the work champions and those it portrays?○ Consider Franklin’s aphorisms (pg. 141) and
discuss the loaded assumptions made on the working class vs. aristocratic class.
○ Consider Franklin’s model day (pg. 143) – in what way does leisure (6-9pm) assume a level of financial comfort?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?What values does the text subvert?What conflict(s) can be seen between the
values the work champions and those it portrays?
What social classes do the characters represent?
4. Marxist Questions Asked:
What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?What values does the text subvert?What conflict(s) can be seen between the values
the work champions and those it portrays?What social classes do the characters
represent?○ Discussion: how feasible is the “moral perfection”
ideal that Franklin demonstrates (pg. 140) to the average person?
4. Marxist Questions Asked:
What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?What values does the text subvert?What conflict(s) can be seen between the
values the work champions and those it portrays?
What social classes do the characters represent?
How do characters from different classes interact or conflict?
4. Marxist Questions Asked:
What is the social class of the author?What values does the text reinforce?What values does the text subvert?What conflict(s) can be seen between the values the
work champions and those it portrays?What social classes do the characters represent?How do characters from different classes interact or
conflict?○ Paine (pg. 161) argues that tyranny is to “bind us in all
cases whatsoever”. How is his argument a double standard when taken with the idea of slavery at the time?
4. Marxist
Questions Asked:How do different classes clash, and to what
degree does hardship/reward agree with social class?
4. Marxist
Facets:
4. Marxist
Facets:The literary theory is based on Karl Marx,
and influenced by the works of philosophers such as Georg Hegel – this school of thinking concerns itself with:
4. Marxist
Facets:The literary theory is based on Karl Marx,
and influenced by the works of philosophers such as Georg Hegel – this school of thinking concerns itself with:○ Class differences
4. Marxist
Facets:The literary theory is based on Karl Marx,
and influenced by the works of philosophers such as Georg Hegel – this school of thinking concerns itself with:○ Class differences
Economic differences
4. Marxist
Facets:The literary theory is based on Karl Marx,
and influenced by the works of philosophers such as Georg Hegel – this school of thinking concerns itself with:○ Class differences
Economic differences○ The implications/complications of a capitalist
system.
4. Marxist
Facets:“Marxism attempts to reveal the ways in
which our socioeconomic system is the ULTIMATE source of our experience.” - Tyson
4. Marxist
Facets:“Marxism attempts to reveal the ways in
which our socioeconomic system is the ULTIMATE source of our experience.” – Tyson
Marxist theorists, therefore, are interested in answering the overarching question:○ Whom does it (the work, the effort, the policy,
the road, the country, et al) benefit?
4. Marxist
Facets:“Marxism attempts to reveal the ways in
which our socioeconomic system is the ULTIMATE source of our experience.” – Tyson
Marxist theorists, therefore, are interested in answering the overarching question:○ Whom does it (the work, the effort, the policy,
the road, the country, et al) benefit?○ The elite? The Middle Class?
4. Marxist
Facets:The Marxist critic is interested, primarily, in
how the lower/working classes are OPPRESSED in every day life and in literature.○ This CAN be, remember, done through force,
propaganda, or omission.
4. Marxist
Discussion:
4. Marxist
Discussion:Consider the standards of a “proper life”
espoused by Franklin – in what ways do we see his struggles as unrealistic to the common man?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Consider the standards of a “proper life”
espoused by Franklin – in what ways do we see his struggles as unrealistic to the common man?○ Reader Response/Marxist bonus – consider: if
we, as the common people, see this as the popular belief of perfection…can we become perfect unless we are born wealthy???
4. Marxist
Discussion:More optimistically…consider Franklin’s
advocating of a strong moral life as an “equalizer” – how does this SUGGEST a method for all men to be truly equal in an American society?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Look to Franklin’s Axe anecdote (pg. 145)…
in what ways does Franklin seek to turn his privileged upbringing/background (printer journeyman – business owner) towards a more working class background?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Look to Franklin’s Axe anecdote (pg. 145)…
in what ways does Franklin seek to turn his privileged upbringing/background (printer journeyman – business owner) towards a more working class background?○ The Optimist: How does this anecdote
suggest a “common link” of struggles and knowledge common to those in ALL strata of society?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Look to Franklin’s aphorisms (pg. 147): your
text notes that they are updated adaptations of traditional proverbs.
4. Marxist
Discussion:Look to Franklin’s aphorisms (pg. 147): your
text notes that they are updated adaptations of traditional proverbs.○ I ask you this: what purpose is served by
selling them?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Look to Franklin’s aphorisms (pg. 147): your
text notes that they are updated adaptations of traditional proverbs.○ I ask you this: what purpose is served by
selling them?Where can we spot a business owner making a
buck?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Look to Franklin’s aphorisms (pg. 147): your
text notes that they are updated adaptations of traditional proverbs.○ The optimist in you will ask this: how do these
aphorisms show a “universality”, free of class-labels?
4. Marxist
Discussion:“…that all men are created equal; that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (pg. 156)○ How does this support the belief structure of
the upper class in the colonies?
4. Marxist
Discussion:“…that all men are created equal; that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (pg. 156)○ How does this support the belief structure of
the upper class in the colonies?How is repetition used throughout the Declaration to
support a “right to free business”?
4. Marxist
Discussion:“…that all men are created equal; that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (pg. 156)○ How does this support the belief structure of
the upper class in the colonies?How is repetition used throughout the Declaration to
support a “right to free business”?What populations are left out of this statement?
4. Marxist
Discussion:“…that all men are created equal; that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (pg. 156)○ Flip side: Jefferson and company can be
considered here to be the intellectual class – how do they seem to suggest an ushering in of a new era, free of royalty?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Look to Wheatley’s Hymn (pg. 172)
○ How does this show only those with the luxury to “enjoy nature”, rather than those who fight to survive, or those forced to live within the cities?
4. Marxist Discussion:
Look to Wheatley’s Hymn (pg. 172)○ How does this show only those with the luxury to
“enjoy nature”, rather than those who fight to survive, or those forced to live within the cities?
○ Bonus Marxist/Post-Colonial Interpretation: Consider Wheatley’s biography (pg. 170) – consider elements to her life in which the dominant culture was FORCED upon her from youth, and how this contributes to her eventual fame – does she espouse “white/upper class” values?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Look to Wheatley’s Hymn (pg. 172)
○ The optimist viewpoint: consider this hymn as a method for ALL to enjoy “God’s gifts” in equal measure – are the best things in life meant for all?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Look to Wheatley’s Hymn (pg. 172)
○ The optimist viewpoint: consider this hymn as a method for ALL to enjoy “God’s gifts” in equal measure – are the best things in life meant for all?
○ The bonus: does Wheatley’s fame as a poet suggest America as a true equalizer?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Paine – pg. 160 – “tyranny, like hell, is not
easily conquered”○ How is the ruling power (think post-colonial) of
Great Britain represented?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Paine – pg. 160 – “tyranny, like hell, is not
easily conquered”○ How is the ruling power (think post-colonial) of
Great Britain represented?What does Paine LEAVE OUT in terms of what the
“new power” will eventually become?
4. Marxist
Discussion:Paine – pg. 160 – “tyranny, like hell, is not
easily conquered”○ How is the ruling power (think post-colonial) of
Great Britain represented?Optimistically – how does Paine demonstrate himself
as stepping against the aristocracy for a measure of equality for all? Consider his statements on representation, democracy, and rights of freedom.
4. Marxist
The Dialectic
4. Marxist
The DialecticThis is the backbone to Marxist thinking –
this system maintains that “…what drives historical change are the material realities of the economic base of society, rather than the ideological superstructure of politics, law, philosophy, religion, and art that is built upon that economic base.” - Richter, 1088
4. Marxist
The DialecticMarx states: “stable societies develop sites
of resistance: contradictions build into the social system that ultimately leads to social revolution and the development of a new society upon the old”
4. Marxist
The DialecticMarx states: “stable societies develop sites of
resistance: contradictions build into the social system that ultimately leads to social revolution and the development of a new society upon the old”
This cycle of contradiction/tension/revolution must continue – there will ALWAYS be conflict between upper, middle, and lower (working) classes, and this conflict will be reflected in literature and other forms of expression
4. Marxist
The Revolution:Sometimes, this control is through a
propagation of values and beliefs – consider Paine’s constant reference to Providence, Franklin’s statements that the life he espouses is a godly life, and Jefferson’s ideals that they are fated by divinity to rule.
4. Marxist
The RevolutionPhyllis Wheatley’s “General Washington”
shows signs of divinity – in what ways do you see literary device used to elevate a mortal man, a land-holding, slave-owning aristocrat, to the level of godhood?
4. Marxist
The RevolutionPhyllis Wheatley’s “General Washington”
shows signs of divinity – in what ways do you see literary device used to elevate a mortal man, a land-holding, slave-owning aristocrat, to the level of godhood?○ What you see here is a level of propaganda,
from the Marxist perspective, used to keep the common man docile – against his/her own best interest, active to keep the aristocrats in power.
4. Marxist
The Revolution:
4. Marxist
The Revolution: Conflict between classes will ALWAYS
lead to upheaval and revolution by oppressed peoples, forming the groundwork for a new order of society. Marx believes the TRUE revolution would be led by the working class under the guidance of intellectuals.
4. Marxist
The Revolution: Once equality is assured, and the elite
are overthrown, intellectuals will compose an equal society, where everyone owns everything.
4. Marxist
The Revolution: Once equality is assured, and the elite
are overthrown, intellectuals will compose an equal society, where everyone owns everything.This is NOT communism. This can best be
described as a democratic socialism. The “final goal” of such a political/social structure is a lack of an elite class.
4. Marxist
Final Thought:There are a billion permutations and
nuances to be found within this large theory – Marxist critics can safely be said to be Marxist when they follow the basic ideals set above.
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